A network of collection, charging and distribution machines collect, charge and distribute portable electrical energy storage devices. To charge, the machines employ electrical current from an external source. As demand at individual collection, charging and distribution machines increases or decreases relative to other collection, charging and distribution machines, a distribution management system initiates redistribution of portable electrical energy storage devices from one collection, charging and distribution machine to another collection, charging and distribution machine in an expeditious manner. Also, redeemable incentives are offered to users to return or exchange their portable electrical energy storage devices at selected collection, charging and distribution machines within the network to effect the redistribution.

The present disclosure relates to products and services locating systems, and discloses an interactive system for locating products and services with voice/chat enabled assistance. It helps customers in identifying location and availability of products based on current inventory of stocks in various stores, and also helps customers in identifying location of different services and offers provided by different services providers. Further the system of the present disclosure provides navigation assistance based on user requirement. The system comprises a memory, a processor, a database, a user input module, a location identifier, a natural language processing (NLP) engine, and a server.

Techniques for providing friction-free transactions using geolocation and user identifiers are described herein. These techniques may ascertain a user's location based on a location of a mobile device. A transaction between the user and a merchant may be completed with zero or minimal input from the user based on the geolocation of the mobile device and the user identifiers. In some implementations, a transaction initiated earlier is completed when the mobile device arrives at the merchant. Additionally, a parent-child or similar relationship may be established between multiple devices. Security on the mobile device based may be provided by biometric identification and calculation of variance from regular movement patterns. Advertisements may be sent to the mobile device based on bids from merchants near to the mobile device. A relationship between the mobile device an a merchant may be bootstrapped from previous transactions that did not use the mobile device.

A digital signage system provides a processor and memory; a media player for delivering content to digital signage that stores at least one playlist having media slots for playing media spots, where at least one of the media spots is a content controlling spot that includes intelligent content including attributes and attribute values for commanding control of delivery of other media spots, where the content controlling spot is configured to, upon being instigated, use the intelligent content to search for media spots to be played by the media player, identify a plurality of published media spots to be played based on a set of attributes and attribute values associated therewith, and cause one of the plurality of the published media spots to be retrieved based on the set of attributes and attribute values associated with the spot, and where the media player plays the retrieved spot on the digital signage.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for locating a client terminal are provided. One of the methods includes: obtaining, by an audio signal playing terminal, identification information of an object associated with the audio signal playing terminal; watermarking, by the audio signal playing terminal, a to-be-played audio signal based on the identification information to obtain an audio signal having a watermark; and playing, by the audio signal playing terminal, the audio signal having the watermark for a client terminal to collect the audio signal having the watermark and send the audio signal having the watermark or the identification information to a server to enable the server to obtain the identification information and determine a position of the object based on a correspondence between the identification information and the position of the object and thereby to determine a position of the client terminal.

Systems, methods, and apparatus for the purchase of and/or free sampling of products. The systems, methods, and/or apparatus may permit push notifications of purchased products and/or free product samples being available and may permit the use of mobile devices and/or mobile device applications to be used to purchase products or dispense free samples of products via a product dispenser or vending machine.

The disclosed embodiments provide systems, methods, and techniques for managing merchandising cards. A merchandising card may be, for example, a gift card, loyalty card, or the like. Consistent disclosed embodiments, a system for managing merchandising cards may include one or more memory devices storing instructions and one or more processors configured to acquire, from a device over a network, a plurality of locations associated with the device, the device locations being acquired at different instances in time within a predetermined period of time. Additionally, the one or more processors may be configured to calculate a merchant confidence rating for a merchant using the device locations. Further, the one or more processors may be configured to, based on the merchant confidence rating, determine that the merchant matches a merchant that is associated with merchandising card, and send a reminder a user of the device.

The disclosed embodiments provide systems, methods, and techniques for managing merchandising cards. A merchandising card may be, for example, a gift card, loyalty card, or the like. Consistent disclosed embodiments, a system for managing merchandising cards may include one or more memory devices storing instructions and one or more processors configured to acquire, from a device over a network, a plurality of locations associated with the device, the device locations being acquired at different instances in time within a predetermined period of time. Additionally, the one or more processors may be configured to calculate an overall merchant confidence rating for a merchant using the device locations. Further, the one or more processors may be configured to, based on the overall merchant confidence rating, determine that the merchant matches a merchant that is associated with merchandising card, and send a reminder a user of the device.

A disclosed example includes memory; instructions in the apparatus; and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to: monitor for a mobile device communication at a merchant location; obtain a first identifier from the mobile device communication obtained at a first server in response to identifying the mobile device communication during the monitoring; store the first identifier in association with the merchant location in a database; and in response to determining that the first identifier is present in the database, send an association between the first identifier and the merchant location to a second server of an audience measurement entity, the first identifier included in a second communication from the second server of the audience measurement entity.

A system for engaging customers is disclosed, where the system is configured to receive information related to a plurality of offers provided by a plurality of entities, the information comprising one or more of location rules, time rules, and offer details; receive geolocation information from a user device; identify, from the plurality of offers, at least one offer, wherein the identifying is based at least in part on the geolocation information and the information related to the plurality of offers; obtain one or more first information comprising information related to one of the at least one offer; display the one or more first information, wherein the one or more first information further comprises information provided by at least one entity; select a first offer, wherein the selecting comprises sending a request for viewing, booking, and/or purchasing the first offer; and receiving an acceptance for the first offer.