In some embodiments, systems and methods provide distributed item authentication. In some embodiments systems comprise: a housing; a set of sensor systems; a transceiver; and an authentication control circuit configured to: obtain first sensor data of an item being authenticated, obtain an initial identification of the item; access an item authentication block specific to the item; obtain a first set of authentication instructions; control one or more sensor systems in accordance with the first set of authentication instructions; compare multiple current authentication sensor data to the set of multiple historic authentication sensor data; confirm that each of a threshold number of the multiple current authentication sensor data is consistent within a threshold variation of a corresponding one of the set of multiple historic authentication sensor data; and cause the item authentication block to be updated to include the confirmation of authentication of the item.

The same workstation supports an electro-optical reader for reading bar code symbols, and a radio frequency (RF) antenna of an RF identification (RFID) reader for reading RFID tags, through a window that is transmissive to light and to RF energy. The RF antenna is mounted in an interior cavity of the workstation that is bounded by electrically conductive walls and the window. An RF reflector behind the RF antenna reflects the RF energy radiated by the RF antenna out of the interior cavity through the window along a direction generally perpendicular to the window.

A registration apparatus for registering commodity information includes a bar code reader configured to read commodity information from a symbol attached to a commodity, a wireless tag reader configured to read tag information stored in a wireless tag attached to a commodity, a first cancel key, and a processor configured to upon reading of tag information stored in a wireless tag via the wireless tag reader, acquire commodity information associated with the tag information and register the acquired commodity information as first data, upon reading of commodity information from a symbol via the bar code reader, register the read commodity information as second data, and upon detection of the first cancel key being operated, cancel registration of the commodity information registered as the first data.

This disclosure describes a system for automatically transitioning items from a materials handling facility without delaying a user as they exit the materials handling facility. For example, while a user is located in a materials handling facility, the user may pick one or more items. The items are identified and automatically associated with the user at or near the time of the item pick. When the users enters and/or passes through a transition area, the picked items are automatically transitioned to the user without affirmative input from or delay to the user.

A computer-implemented process is useful for inspecting a shopping cart in preparation for a rapid checkout from a retail store, the shopping cart including items scanned for purchase by the customer during a shopping trip in the retail store. The process includes monitoring, within a computerized server, an initiation of a rapid checkout by the customer and generating, within a computerized processor, an inspection list for a store employee based upon the initiation. The inspection list includes a summary of items scanned by the customer.

A method for use in a computing device, comprising: receiving, from a remote device, a request to record an asset transfer in a first blockchain system; authenticating the request by using an authentication mechanism that is independent of the first blockchain system and obtaining an authentication record indicating that the request has been authenticated successfully; and recording the asset transfer in the first blockchain system, the asset transfer being recorded by storing the authentication record and a record of the asset transfer in a first ledger of the first blockchain system, wherein recording the asset transfer includes associating an instance of the record of the asset transfer that is stored in the first ledger of the first blockchain system with an instance of the authentication record that is stored in the first ledger of the first blockchain system.

A system and method for tracking medical articles located in a container includes a hybrid isolated magnetic dipole (“IMD”) probe that provides an activating EM energy RF field having a magnetic near field at least as great as the electric near field, both of which cover the entire interior of the container. The probe comprises a main element having capacitive coupling across at least one slot and spacing above a ground plane to thereby form an isolated electric field and an equally strong or stronger magnetic field that fills the interior of the container to activate RFID tags therein. A dual system is provided for larger containers. A dynamic impedance tuning system controls the probe impedance for increased efficiency in transferring power to the interior of the container. Beam steering is provided with the IMD probe.

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a technique for determining the authenticity of a product without requiring a special device such as an integrated circuit (IC) tag. A means for solving this problem according to the invention is characterized by determining the authenticity of a target product on the basis of the validity of the association between the body of the product and a surface-treated component that is mounted to the body and that has been validated.

According to one embodiment, a reading apparatus includes a shielding body, an antenna, and a reader and writer. The shielding body is formed in a box shape with an upper opening, to place an accommodating body and to shield radio waves. The antenna is provided in the shielding body to receive information from an RFID tag attached to a product that is passing through the opening. The reader and writer is connected to the antenna to read information of the product from the information received by the antenna.

A store apparatus (10) includes a reading result registration unit (110) that registers a tag reading result including tag recording information acquired by reading a tag provided to an individual product by a reading apparatus of a gate and radio wave intensity received from the tag, in association with person determination information about a person who passes through the gate, a purchase product confirmation unit (120) that confirms a purchase product, based on the tag reading result for each person, and a checkout unit (130) that performs checkout processing of the purchase product confirmed by the purchase product confirmation unit (120). When tag recording information related to a same tag is included in both of a first tag reading result related to a first person and a second tag reading result related to a second person who passes through the gate after the first person, the reading result registration unit (110) confirms the first tag reading result, based on magnitude of intensity of a radio wave received from the same tag.