Mobile battery powered workstation carts for order fulfillment are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a battery powered workstation cart may comprise a wheeled cart having a frame, a rechargeable lithium battery, a computer, a barcode reader/scanner, a RFID reader/scanner, a printer, an artificial intelligence hub, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and/or GPS. The frame may also comprise two side bracket arms and/or shelves, which may be modular to receive various different sized baskets, bins, or totes therein to expedite retail order fulfillment.

A tag reading apparatus comprises a passage that is configured to receive an RFID-tagged article that is to be registered in a transaction. The passage has an inlet end and an outlet end separated from each other in a first direction and width in a second direction. An antenna is in the passage at a position between the inlet and outlet ends in the first direction. An RFID reader is provided to read an RFID tag according to a response wave from the RFID tag received via the antenna. A controller is configured to identify the RFID-tagged article as being in the transaction according to a change in the response wave (such as a phase difference or intensity) corresponding to a movement of the RFID-tagged article from the inlet end to the outlet end.

A self-checkout system includes: a checkout device that checks out a product registered by a portable terminal; a camera that captures an image of a scene where a customer attempts to resister the product; a detector that detects a registration failure state where registration of the product is determined to have failed during a period in which the registration of the product according to a single transaction is attempted; and a display that displays, during a period in which the checkout device is checking out the product registered according to the single transaction, the detected registration failure state.

A transportable container is enabled with radio frequency identification (“RFID”) technologies to maintain automated inventory levels of those items that are inside the container. The inventory data is communicated via wireless methods, such as cellular or Wi-Fi, to a remote device such as enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system. The ERP system may use the inventory data received from the remote device to automatically update appropriately and generate appropriate records (e.g., container inventory, restocking, invoicing, etc.). In some embodiments, automated RFID scans are triggered when the container is opened and subsequently closed. The container may include RF containment/screening to prevent inadvertent scanning of RFID tags outside of the container. The container may also include a location device to allow the location of the container to be readily determined.

Systems and devices for regulation of self-management of a medication schedule are provided. A system can include a pill dispenser cap, a plurality of insulating layers; a near field communication (NFC) tag, and a pill dispenser. The system can further include a graphical user interface (GUI), and first and second mobile devices each having a display unit, a sensor, a processor, and a computer readable medium.

A method and a system for enabling in-store purchasing of security-tagged merchandise, avoiding going through the point of sale of a retailer, are provided herein. The method may include the following steps: identifying, using a user-coupled device, a security tag attached to specific item to be purchased, wherein the security-tag is unique to the specific identified item; initiating a purchase request of said item via the user-coupled device, wherein the request includes a price of the item and identifiers of: the item, the security-tag identification, the retailer, and the user; attempting a transaction based on the purchase request, wherein the transaction is capable of being authorised by a third party; and indicating at a data repository associated with an in-store security gate sensitive to said security tag, that the security tag is no longer capable of initiating an alarm.

According to one embodiment, a wireless tag reading device includes a product placing portion on which a product is placed, an antenna which is installed in a vicinity of the product placing portion and emits radio waves toward a wireless tag attached to the placed product, and an antenna moving mechanism for moving the antenna along a locus of a concave curve.

Systems and methods for detecting potential shrink events via RFID technology are provided. The systems include a point of sale (POS) system that includes an optical scanner, an RFID transceiver arrangement, a user interface and a controller. The controller is configured to perform example methods disclosed herein. For example, the controller may detect that the optical scanner has decoded a barcode, trigger the RFID transceiver arrangement to write a data string to an RFID tag located within the object scanning area, conduct a detection operation to detect the RFID tag with the data string in the bagging area. Responsive to detecting the RFID tag with the data string, the method involves the user interface performing a first operation. Responsive to not detecting the RFID tag with the data string, the method involves the user interface performing a second operation.

An article management system includes one or more first antennas provided on a side of a first prescribed region and one or more second antennas provided on a side of a second prescribed region such that the first antennas and the second antennas have respective reading target areas which at least partially do not overlap with each other; a reader/writer configured to read article information stored in an RFID tag attached to an article by using the first antennas and the second antennas, respectively; and a management device configured to manage the article information read by the reader/writer from the RFID tag.

A wireless tag reading device has an accommodation region with a bottom surface, a first side surface, a second side surface, and a back surface. The accommodation region can accommodate therein a product with a wireless tag attached thereto. The product can be inserted and withdrawn from the accommodation region via an opening at the front and top of the accommodation region. A tag reading unit includes an antenna configured to emit radio waves toward the product in the accommodation region and then receive a response signal. The outside portions of the first side surface, the second side surface, and the back surface reflect radio waves. An inside portion of the back surface is a radio wave transmitting material. There is a gap left between the inside portion and the outside portion of the back surface portion.