The following processes are performed: a control process for issuing a VP card such that information on a card number is associated with information on at least a user ID, a value, and an expiration date, a control process for, regarding a VP card specified as a gift target by the first user, newly associating between the VP card and a user ID of the second user other than the first user, a process of setting a return condition regarding the VP card specified as a gift target, a control process for displaying information on usage status of the given VP card to the second user on condition that login with a user ID of the first user is completed, and a process of performing a control for at least invalidating the association between the virtual prepaid card and the user ID of the second user.

A method for providing a multi-service platform to entities includes the storage of profiles for a plurality of entities involved in services with other entities, including point to point and business to business transactions, including entities not registered, that can be claimed by each entity, where each entity can provide for roles and hierarchies of authorized users of the platform for that entity, and where the platform is configured to provide, among other services, registration of procurement status for purchase orders in a digital ledger that provides for auditability and immutability.

Systems, apparatuses and methods are provided herein for building a shopping list on a user device using a sensor unit attached to a shopping container. In one embodiment, a shopping apparatus is provided. The shopping apparatus includes a portable item container and a sensor unit attached to the portable item container. The sensor unit includes a sensor configured to detect identifying information from items gathered by a user and placed in the portable item container and a transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit the identifying information of the items to a user device configured to use the identifying information to build a shopping list.

A method of raising funds for the creation of artistic works by obtaining financial contributions from interested individuals. An author uploads an artistic work to a website and offers visitors to the website creative control to the artistic work or parts thereof in exchange for payment.

A method is implemented by a server communicating with a user-end portable device carried by a user. The method includes: receiving from the user-end portable device information that indicates a user-end location of the user-end portable device; calculating a distance between the user-end location and a store location of the brick-and-mortar store; determining an advertised article that is sold in the brick-and-mortar store, according to at least one of a purchase record or a wish associated with the user; and when the distance is smaller than a pre-determined distance, transmitting data to the user-end portable device to enable the user-end portable device to display of a webpage for purchasing the advertised article.

Systems and methods for optimizing an online on-demand service are provided. A method may include: obtaining driver information associated with a plurality of historical drivers corresponding to the plurality of historical orders; for each historical driver during a predetermined period of time, determining a plurality of records based on the order information and the driver information according to a decision-making processes, each record includes a driver's space-time status, a driver's action, a driver's revenue, and a driver's subsequent space-time status; and determining a value function based on the plurality of records of each historical driver according to a reinforcement learning algorithm.

A system is provided and generally includes a server (e.g., application server), an associate computing device, and a client computing device. The server can receive a user arrival notification that indicates a user has arrived to pick up purchased goods. The server can transmit a scan initiation request to a remote terminal that causes the remote terminal to scan at least one network. The server can receive scan data for the scanned network from the remote terminal indicating, for example, a signal strength of that network. The server can determine a current wait time based on the received scan data for the scanned network, and can transmit the current wait time to the remote terminal.

A POS terminal for fulfilling orders includes a state processor and an order processor. The state processor queues state changes in durable order queues that correspond to orders in a restaurant. The order processor, coupled to the state processor, generates the state changes and accesses and transmits the state changes in each of the durable order queues to a synchronization server, from oldest to youngest, when operably connected to a network, where the order processor includes current order state fields corresponding to all of the orders, and where the order processor utilizes domain specific rules disposed therein to resolve conflicts in the orders occurring from state change updates received from the synchronization server which result from other state changes to the one or more orders generated by one or more other POS terminals, where one or more of the orders are received from a third-party terminal that is not on-premise with the POS terminal.

A software application is installed in a mobile communication device. A consumer at a retail location carries the communication device. As the consumer selects items for purchase, product information is successively entered into the communication device to notify the application of the products which the consumer selects. The application uploads the product information to a server of the merchant which operates the retail location. The communication functionality of the communication device is used to notify the consumer of product offers, and/or communicate to the consumer reward information relating to consumer rewards offered to the consumer for making the purchases.

The invention discloses a waitressing drone that brings drinks to people at the restaurant, and the orders are identified from the Facebook photo of the user, that the drone displays when making the delivery. The invention facilitates the interaction with humans and drones via the social network. With the invention, the order input time is greatly reduced for the consumer, and the consumer may move about while waiting for the order as the drone finds the consumer. Also importantly, the social nature of the drone allows for the sharing of drones among multiple human users. Further, the interfacing of the social human profile with non-human drone profiles allows for the continuous retraining and reprogramming of drones to meet more specific and individualistic user tasks, thereby liberating people from mundane manual labour.